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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Tale of Two Cities is an excellent novel written by Dickens later in life displaying his full talent. This is his second piece of historical fiction taking place in London and Paris during the French Revolution. Dickens sympathy with the struggle against the aristocracy is balanced by the portrait of human immorality when people go to extremes. In true Dickensian manner there are both great villains and heroes confronted with major life defining challenges. The book has the best opening paragraph in literature.
OK, Chuck, we get it - wine is blood and blood is wine. Yeesh.
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A Tale of Two Cities has a slow start and a tendency to flag between scenes set in France. per usual with Dickens, the colorful cast of characters make wading through a slow plot and dense language worth it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my goodness. This book is incredible. In my starring I put a mix for characterization and plot. This is because the book can almost be split down the middle. The first half is spent on building the characters. The relationship they have with each other, as well as building the world and seemingly unimportant background details. The second half is just non stop action. It’s the culmination of the first half. Usually in stories, suspend and fear can be shielded a little bit when it comes to the main characters. This is because many stories are kind of afraid to kill their protagonists. However, Dickens brilliantly utilizes the real life terror and uncertainty that existed during the French Revolution to go against this. At no point in the story is anyone safe, and this makes for a wonderfully thrilling and suspenseful story. Dickens has long been said to be one of the greatest literary minds ever, and this book perfectly exemplifies why. This is an absolute must for any fan of historical fiction/classical literature.
If only Dickens could have compressed the novel into 200 pages--I would have been a fan!
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"It's a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
"Any one of these partners would have disinherited his son on the question of rebuilding Telson's. In this respect, the House was much on a par with the country, which did very often disinherited sons for suggesting improvements in laws and customs that had long been highly objectionable, but were only the more respectable."
"In the sad moonlight, she clasped him by the neck, and laid her face upon his breast. In the moonlight which is always sad, as the light of the sun itself is—as the light called human life is—at its coming and its going."
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes